Bicycle Tour of Coloradoís 15th anniversary tourÖ This trip is spectacular: you will need to test your mettle on four, count them four, near century days, two 12,000 foot passes, the Grand Mesa, and a lower pass. Total route mileage, if you partake in the must-do Colorado National Monument ride on the second day is about 555 miles for the week. This is easily the longest tour ever for the BTC. Despite the length, I believe that the ride will be worth just about every mile. The Grand Mesa (which is a first for the BTC, I believe), Colorado National Monument (another first), Independence Pass, Cottonwood Pass (another first), and Crested Butte all offer incredible scenery and fantastic cycling challenges.

I am verklempt just looking at the route. I rode some of those areas last year. Crested Butte is definitely in the very tippy top of my most gorgeous, breathtaking place ever. I am thrilled for you!!!!

Day 1: Fairly easy. 77 miles. Iím thinking that this is a 4,000 to 5,000 foot day. Quite literally, half the day is climbing and half the day is descending. While it comes in at a pretty long first day, it should also be the easiest day of the ride. There is a new trail between Glenwood Springs and Carbondale (and to Aspen) and I suspect that Kent will be using that for our ride. I rode a lot of this trail last year after it opened and loved it. From Carbondale , the grade ramps up slightly, though you wonít notice it much and shortly youíll be following the Crystal River in a deep canyon on your way to Redstone. Redstone is a beautiful little B&B haven well worth a stop for a coffee, Gatorade, or snack along the river.

From here, the grade ramps a bit more and youíre pushing 4% ish grades to the base of the summit. From Glenwood, this is a 37 mile climb and in the end, you will feel it. The final climb, about 3.5 miles in length is steep and incredibly scenic.

From the top, itís downhill all the way to Hotchkiss. You are pretty much in a forested area until the bottom of the of the Paonia Resv where the road flattens out and you start to pass through a couple of small but active coal mining towns. There are a few rollers to great you as you arrive in Hotchkiss, but nothing that is overly hard. While hot, most people should find this a pleasant and scenic day.

actually, just what i have now, a standard compact with 12-27 cassette. the only upgrade i plan to make for this ride is to the engine. can i borrow your engine for that week?

later.

Aaron, you wouldn't even really need a compact. The mountain passes are not really steep just really long climbs....they are not nearly as difficult in my opinion as the Dairyland Dare stuff. Plus the scenery is always a perfect excuse to stop and rest, I mean, get a picture of this fabulous vista even though I could keep riding

Day 2: 98 very difficult miles and about 7,500 feet of climbing. Oh boy. This is a monster day. Plan on it being long, hard, and hot. The first 20 miles is little more than rolling farm land. We may even have a nice tailwind as we head up a small climb to Rogers Mesa. But, around mile 20, a few miles short of Delta, everything changes.
You are now faced with a 5,200 foot 25 mile climb. No matter where you’re from, that’s a monster climb. Only Evergreen to Mt Evans gives you a bigger climb. The good news, this is the easier side as far as grade goes. The grade maxes out at 6% and averages in the 5% range for the last 15 miles of the climb. Bring lots of water as services are few and far between. You won’t believe that you are on the western slope of the Rockies. The trees and lakes are awesome. Both the uphill and downhill sides have a few switchbacks near the top. They aren’t too bad, but will lose momentum on the climb and have to watch speed on the descents.
The downhill is steep and massive. You lose all of the 5000 feet you picked up on the climb and have a nice downhill coast for some 20+ miles. The balance of the ride is getting into Grand Junction and will likely be quite warm.

Day 3: This could be an easy short boring day of 63 miles, or it could be one of the most memorable cycling days ever. The short day option is really nothing more than the typical “shuttle” day every loop ride has. There’s always one day where you need to get from point “a” to point “b” to continue the ride, and this is it.
The bulk of the 63 miles today is riding the rollers between Grand Junction and Delta, and then the steady 1% to 2% climb to Montrose. This part of the ride really reminds me of the last 30 miles of last years Naturita to Cortez ride. Absolutely nothing wrong with it (except rollers which I hate), but given what we’ve been through and have yet to look forward to, it’ just OK. Also, we will more than likely be on Rt 50 which can have a bit of traffic. So, be careful here.

or hard?

Day 3 Option Ride: Moderate
Do it, Do it, Do it. Last year, the Black Canyon was at the end of an easy day and more than a couple people found the campground too appealing to leave and missed a spectacular ride. This year, the option is at the start of the day. There’s nothing special in Montrose, so there’s no need to rush there. Do this ride. It will add 36 miles to your day and will add about 3,600 feet of climbing, but it is worth it. It will turn a mundane day into something memorable.
If you like hairpins, roads stacked on top of each other, steep climbs, tunnels, no guard rails, and views that go on forever, This is for you. Be forewarned, if you don’t like heights, this is not for the faint hearted. One note.. And an important one… I have seen some publications that show this as a 6,000+ foot climbing challenge. I’ve driven this route, not cycled it. I do not remember a lot of rollers on this route which is needed to get the 6,000+ climbing. Regardless, this is still a must do. But 3,000 and 6,000 feet is very different. Please let me know if anyone has experience here.

Holy cow! Another near century day at 93 miles. This will actually be one of your easier 7,500 foot days because of the shear distances involved (read that as nothing too steep). Two big climbs out of Montrose (with a third short aggravating climb before the descent to the resv) account for most of the footage, but you then have fun with an additional 1500 foot climb over 60 miles with a few rollers thrown in too boot. You really won’t notice the climbing after you reach the reservoir or Gunnison, as it is gradual, but, rest assured, you are climbing.

The single most disturbing thing about the Cerro Summit climb is the wind. In the morning, it is quite common to have an incredible down slope headwind in your face as ...you try to leave town. The wind is insidious. Hope for calm. Regardless of the wind, once you reach the first summit, the wind will have eased and you’ll be descending down to Cimarron. You’ll soon be treated to another climb of roughly six miles, followed by a short descent and another short climb and then a long ride down to the water.

Once you’ve made it down to the water, you will ride minor rollers amongst the desert blooms and brush. It really is quite beautiful in here and reminds me more of the desert southwest than of Colorado. It’s likely to be hot and dry and more than once the thought of a quick dip in the lake crossed my mind.

On normal rides, this leg would end at Gunnison and we’d all be relaxing by noon with a beer in hand. However, there’s a short extension to this ride that will add a couple hours to your cycling day. Gunnison to Crested Butte is a nice ride up a gently sloping valley. You won’t run into any rollers to speak of until you approach Crested Butte. The valley, for the most part, is wide and the scenery is turning from desert to alpine. The elevation is rising and the air is getting thinner. Thankfully, the climbing grade is fairly minor (1% to 2%).

In looking at the BTC forums and in hearing questions and conversation, this is the most controversial day of the tour… And in my opinion, one of the best. Yes, there is 15 miles of dirt road from Taylor Park Resv to the summit. Yes, before I rode this route, I was concerned about the dirt. After I rode the pass for the first time, I literally found that the dirt road was BETTER than the surrounding paved road. I can't guarantee that it will be as good this year… but I can say that people really should not worry about it.

This is a great ride. It will be a cold start out of Crested Butte , but it will be a fast trip to Almont given the downhill trend. From Almont, you start the climb and it’s a 35 mile climb. You’ll know you are going up, but it will be mild until you get to the Cottonwood pass turnoff at Taylor Park Resv.

From there, the grade increases from the 1%-2% levels to 3%-4%. At about mile 45, you start climbing in earnest. The dirt really is irrelevant here as you are climbing and not going very fast to start with. On top of that, the upper portion of the route has something like 12 switchbacks. The switchbacks are steep and those, combined with the altitude will take your breath away. If you decide to look back over your shoulder, the views are stunning.

Once over the top, you will have the downhill of your life. The grades approach 10% on the downhills and the roads are in great shape. My first time down this pass I hit 60 MPH easily. There are some switchbacks to watch for and you must control your speed on those, but if the opportunity presents itself, you can fly. Buena Vista is a great place for the night. Relax, you earned it.